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Sunday, November 3, 2013

Is He Like Joe?

Zacchaeus Up a Tree
courtesy photobucket.com

As Pastor Jerry read from Luke 19:1-10 I gleaned from his Sunday Sermon.

Luke 19:5 And when Jesus came to the
place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and
come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.

Pastor
suggested that as children we may have sang the little song Zacchaeus was a wee
little man, a wee man was he - -.Many
of us remembered the song.

It
was interesting to note that Jesus called out his name that meant “Pure or
Righteous” while the crowd perceived Zach as a sinner.

The
response from Zacchaeus was immediate repentance and an act of restitution.

Jesus
told many stories of lost things, and Zach was one of these who was lost.Many times we too are lost when we find
ourselves in the wrong place.

Zach
was up a tree both literally and figuratively, but Jesus knew he was
there.The Sycomore tree is a tree with
low branches, and in order to see Jesus this little man needed a higher plane.

Zach
was a tax collector and they were a hated lot, for they skimmed off the taxes
for their own gain.Zach was very rich,
but he was willing to return four times to those he had defrauded, plus give
large sums of money to the poor.

The
crowd watching all this began to grumble and complain and tell Jesus that this
man is a scoundrel and a sinner; so why would Jesus desire to go to his house?

We
are often guilty of type casting or profiling individuals.Not all poor are alike and not all rich are
alike.Not all ethic groups are alike,
and not all Christians are alike.

Jesus
knows our name and he sees us as individuals in need of a Savior and calls us
Righteous when we come to him.Jesus saw
Zach as a Son of Abraham and called him by name, “Pure.”

Pastor
told a story about a homeless drunk named Joe.Joe visited the local rescue mission and was gloriously converted.From that day on, Joe helped all those who
found themselves at the mission.

Joe
would help those who were too drunk to walk and put them to bed.He cleaned and did the tasks that no one else
wanted to do.Joe was a living testimony
of the Grace of God.One day one of the
regulars went to the altar bench to repent and all he could say was, “Oh Lord
make me like Joe.”The director of the
mission tried to correct the man, and said, “No Say it this way, Make me like
Jesus.”The man looked up and said, “Is
he like Joe?”

May
others be able to see enough of Jesus in us, to call out, “Oh Lord make me like
Joe (or Sally) !!

About Me

I am a widow as of 04/14/17 when my husband Robert went to heaven. I am an ordained minister but am retired except for an occasional wedding or funeral. Sharing about Jesus is a passion and that is why this blog has been set up. I write true stories with a spiritual twist.